Rail-joint



(No Model.)

J. WAYLAND. RAIL JINT No. 603,779. Patented May 10,1898.

' 7inventor ,h4 Attorney To @ZZ whom t may con/cern:

Beit known that I, JAMES WAYLAND, a citi-4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES VAYLAND, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 603,779, dated May 10,1898. Application led January 22, 1898. Serial No. 667,540, (No model.)

zen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, county of Essex,State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification. l

This invention relates to insulated railjoints employed on.railway-tracks to produce electrical discontinuity of the rails forsignaling or other purposes.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved construction inpoint of durability, efficiency, and cheapness.

In carrying out the invention I provide a bed-plate of steel having upturned lateral ribs or webs, one of which-namely, that which in servicelies on the outside of the trackis sufficiently high to prevent outwardspread of the' rail. The bed-plate may beformed by passing a blank ofmetal between suitable forming-rolls, so as to produce the upturnedwebs, and then sawing into suitable lengths to bridge two cross-ties ofa railway-track. Between the webs of the bed-plate I mount a vshim ofinsulating material, one end of which is provided with a plurality ofsteel blocks secured in holes in the shim, so as to form a part of thesame. The shim is laid so that the blocks will support the end of theforward rail at a joint, so as to give said. rail a firm seat andprevent damage to the shim by the hammer-like blows on the end of therail by passing trains. The shim and bed-plate are pierced with slots,through which bolts may pass to lock them in place relatively to oneanother and to coupling-blocks, of Wood or other insulating material,pressing against the rail ends at the joint. The bolt-holes aresymmetrically placed with relation to the ends of the shim andbed-plate, sothat the former may be reversed in position with respect tothe ends of the bed-plate, thereby permitting the same joint appliancesto serve for each direction of trafc along a railway.

The several features of novelty of the invention will be moreparticularly hereinafter described, and will be specifically -indicatedin the claims appended to this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, Figure lis a perspective view of a joint embodying my improvements,

the front plane being a section on the plane indicated by the line X Yof Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the bed-plate andshim. Fig. 3is an end view of a joint embodying my improvements, the rail beingshown in cross-section.

l represents a bed-plate rolled, preferably, from steel and providedwith two side `ribs or webs ll 1b, rising vertically from the floor, andwith projecting edges 3 4, provided with notches at the sides, asindicated, to accommodate the spikes by which the bed-plate is securedto the cross-ties. The rib lb is lower than the rib l, the latter thusserving to prevent lateral spread of the rail ends when they are coupledtogether by blocks 5 6, as shown in Fig. l. Between the ribs l and lb isa shim '7, made of indurated fiber or other tough insulating materialand of a sufficient thickness to raise the iloor to the level of the topof the low rib 1b. In one end of the shim are'mounted blocks of steel orother suitable metal 8, which may be of any desired number orconfiguration and are preferably wedged fast in holes formed in theshim, so that the latter may be moved without dislodging them. Slots 910, symmetrically placed with relation to the ends of the shim andbed-plate, are provided, through which bolts, as 11, may be passed tolock all parts of the j ointrmly together.

In establishing a joint the bed-plate is laid with the high rib lL onthe outside of the rail and the shim is placed so that the metal blockswill lie in front of the joint with reference to the direction ormovement of traffic, so that the rail end which receives the impact orblow of a passing train may be given a firm seat and a minimum amount ofdamage to the road-bed and parts of the joint may result.. Thus thearrangement shown in Fig. 2 would be suitable for the right-hand rail ofa track over which tralilc was proceeding toward the left of thedrawings. In order to accommodate the joint to traffic in the oppositedirection, it would only be necessary to reverse the shim 7 end for end,so that the metal blocks 8 would lie on the right-hand side of thebed-plate. The coupling-block 6 IOO is arranged to rest on the short riblb of the bed-plate, as indicated in Fig. 1, thus permitting its easyremoval for repairs of the joint when required. The coupling-block 5,however, bears against the high rib 1fL and eectually prevents outwardspread of the rail ends. By this arrangement a joint of cheapconstruction is provided which has great strength and durability and bywhich few renewals of the shim are required. This follows from theconstruction shown,by which any splitting or spreading` of the shim isavoided. The latter being of the same width as the floor of thebed-plate it is always kept in position and cannot flatten out in someplaces more than in others and break off or splinter in spots. Betweenthe rail ends is provided the usual insulating-web 12 to preventaccidental contact by expansion of the rails. v v

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new7 and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A bed-plate for an insulated rail-joint having a plane floor,vertical longitudinal side ribs of different height integral therewithand projecting lateral flanges notched to receive spikes, aninsulating-shim conined between the ribs, and a coupling-block bearingon the shim and overlapping the low rib.

2. A reversible insulating-shim for a railjoint having secured in oneend of the same one or more metal blocks to receive the impact of atrain, whereby the shim and blocks may be handled as a single piece.

3. An insulating-shim for a rail-joint having mounted in or securedthereto one or more metal blocks, and provided with means for locking itto a bed-plate symmetrically placed with respect to its ends whereby itmay be reversed end for end for the purpose described.

4. In an insulated railway-joint the combination of a bed-plate providedwith ribs at its sides, bolt-holes symmetrically placed with respect toits ends, and a reversible shim having one or more metal blocks at oneend and bolt-holes to register with those of the bedplate.

5. An insulated railway-joint comprising a bed-plate with vertical ribsat its sides of unequal height, a reversible shim having one or moreblocks in one end thereof, and coupling-blocks at the sides of the railends bolted together and to the bed-plate, one of said blocks resting onthe lower rib and removable therefrom, the other block bearing againstthe high rib.

' 6. In an insulated rail-joint the combination of a bed-plate spanningadjacent crossties and provided with notched edges and vertical sideribs, a reversible shim held against lateral displacement by the sideribs, coupling-blocks at the sides of the rails, vertical bolts passingthrough one of the coupling-blocks, the shim and bed-plate, andhorizontal bolts passing through the rail and coupling-blocks.

7. A railway-joint comprising a bed-plate and an insulating-shim ofsubstantially the length of the floor of the bed-plate having metalblocks therein at a point between its ends.

In'testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 21st day ofJanuary, A. D. 1898.

JAMES WAYLAND.

Witnesses:

RoBT. H. READ, ALICK G. l\/,[Aor \i\u)REwJ

